Rosendael is a Dutch castle near Velp, in the province of Gelderland, Rozendaal.
Rosendael Castle History
Constructed around 1300, the stronghold belonged to the counts of Gelder until 1526. The building originally consisted of an irregular four-sided corps de logis with a circular donjon as its southwest corner tower.
The location of this tower on one of the diagonals (as at Flint Castle, built in 1277, in Wales) is unusual in the Netherlands; so, too, is its massive size, acquired when it was rebuilt on the old foundations after a fire in 1412. It is c. 25 m high and 16 m in diameter, with walls ranging in thickness from 1.2 m to 4 m.
Square chambers have been contrived in the thickness of the wall. The donjon formerly was not connected to the Corps de Logis, but it was linked sometime after the rebuilding of 1412. The present Corps de Logis used to be the Barbican, replacing the original Corps de Logis when the latter was destroyed.
The narrow section that joins it to the donjon must have been built after 1512. Rosendale Castle has altered again around 1615, when two residential wings were built, crowned with Gelderland gables and Renaissance decorations; these are joined to the donjon by means of the narrow section.
A lower ward surrounded by a moat served as an ornamental garden. Rozendaal underwent further alterations in the wake of another fire in 1714.
The Gelderland gables were replaced by a new gable, which united the living quarters under a single roof, and a splendid park was laid out, with classical temples and pavilions; the donjon was probably lowered by one story during the same period. Despite its history of rebuilding much of the medieval fabric of Rosendael survives.
The Rosendael Castle now houses a museum, established after the latest restoration of the building and the park, completed in 1990.
Rosendael Castle Location
Address: Kasteel Rosendael, Rosendael 1, 6891 DA Rozendaal, Netherlands